In Cor Claudere
by Empress Jade
Summary: James, Lily, and Sirius have an adventure beginning during winter break: love, hate, destinies, falling to the dark side, rising to the light side, unchangeable charms, Sirius making moves on girls, friendship, jealousy, special appearances by wizarding
1. Let Me Tell You a Story...

Yes, this is the first chapter of a new series

Yes, finally a new story! The first of many chapters. Pay attention, a lot of the things in the this chapter will come back to haunt us! This one's pretty light, not a TON happens, but it's meant to lead into the true action and adventure that is in store. So if you think it's boring (which I hope you won't), read the next chapter when it comes out, and maybe you'll like that better. When you review, if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear about them. Note that I said WHEN you review, not if. Take a hint!

Enjoy,

Empress Jade

All Harry Potter related material belongs to J. K. Rowling, her publishers, and Warner Brothers.

IN COR CLAUDERE Chapter One

By Empress Jade

The dark haired boy pulled his glasses off his face and closed his eyes, sighing. The hard rock of the cave did little to comfort him as it poked into his head and back. Yet he did not seem to notice. He had a lot on his mind for a boy his age.

His dazzling emerald eyes blinked open again and focused on the man in front of him.

Sirius Black looked better than ever, it was now three years since he had escaped from Azkaban. His hair was neatly trimmed, his face full of color, and his eyes full of love for his godson.

"You what's funny though? Even with all this going on, the first thing on my mind is still Hermione," Harry blushed a little at these words, but continued gushing out his thoughts, "But she has this thing, especially lately where she's always looking at me as if I were a ticking time bomb," he looked at the ground. "So I _am_ in danger, I always have been. But not all that much more that anyone else at this point. I just wish she wouldn't worry about it so much."

"So you wouldn't worry about her if the situation was reversed?" Sirius asked.

The right side of his mouth curled up as Harry tried to think of the right words. "I guess I would. In a way, I'm glad she is. It's just one of those things that kind of bothers you, but you don't want it to go away. You know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Your father used to say things like that when--"

His face paused, the way faces tend to do when they let something slip and regret it.

"When what?" Harry sat up, eager to hear more about his parents.

"When he, uh…played Quidditch."

"Nice try. But really, when what?"

Sirius shook his head lightly. "It's nothing really. A long story," he added quickly.

"I have time," Harry insisted. "It's a Hogsmeade Saturday, I have until six o' clock and it's only noon now!"

Staring slightly, Sirius debated silently in his head. He knew he really couldn't get out of it now. And he had planned to tell Harry. Eventually. But now?

He took a big breath. "Your parents didn't really have the easiest time either. It wasn't that they didn't get along each other, it was that…"

* * *

"Christmas is in two days!" James Potter flopped onto a chair, aboard the Hogwarts Express. "I can't wait."

"Yeah, me either," Lily curled up next to him. "Even though I'm not sure spending Christmas with Sirius is going to be exactly, safe." Since her parents had died two months earlier, she and her sister were to be staying with the Black family, their neighbors. Luckily for Lily, and Sirius, Petunia was disgusted by the thought of staying in a house full of "freaks" and had been permitted to stay with a friend from school.

James chuckled. "Don't worry, I've spent weeks at a time with Sirius."

"And look how you turned out."

"You mean cunning and gorgeous and irresistible to women?"

"Do I look like I want to be irresistible to women?" Lily glanced up at him.

"So you admit that I am?"

"Will you stop answering my questions with questions?"

"How 'bout I answer them with this?"

He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. He still knew how to make her head spin and her spine tingle. As he pulled his head away, her mouth flipped up into a smile.

"No, I think I liked the questions better."

"Oh yeah?" he murmured softly and leaned towards her again.

The compartment door flew open. And James's head flew up to see who it was.

Sirius waltzed in, with his current girlfriend, Callie, who was very close to beating the record of two weeks with him, hanging on his arm. Her long blonde hair and hourglass figure suited his tastes very well. After all, he hadn't had a blonde for nearly three months and brunettes do start to get old.

"Well, well, well, you two thought you could hide from us, huh?" Sirius somehow managed to squeeze into that tiny space between James and Lily and sat back, looking quite at home.

James scowled at his best friend for interrupting his private moment. "Damn, I knew I should have locked that door."

"Well," Callie cut in, "We really just came to tell you that we've arrived."

A surprised James turned to the window, and saw that the scenery had stopped whizzing past them, and that there wizarding parents scattered all over, waiting for their children.

"We can finish this later," he whispered at Lily, quiet enough so that no one else could hear, and stood up with a smug grin.

* * *

A pair of gentle, strong arms wrapped around Lily's shoulders. "Cherry!" She quickly embraced Sirius's mother, who was practically her surrogate mother now and flashed a smile at her husband, Jack, who were both now standing on the platform with the four seventh year Hogwarts, and Andromeda, Sirius's sister, who was a fifth year.

"James dear, you'll have to come and stay during this break," Cherry patted him on the shoulder as she acknowledged everyone.

"I wouldn't let those two stay in the same town, let alone the same house!" Callie exclaimed, tossing her head at James and Lily. The couple chuckled a little awkwardly.

"And why is that?" A new voice emerged from behind Callie. She was unmistakably her mother, with the same fair tresses and tall, slim figure wearing a chic tailored business suit and a beautiful gold chain that hung at her neck although the charm was hidden inside her shirt.

"Well, they are quite the couple now. The Magic Word, you know our school paper, Mum, has given them the best pair award for two months now."

"Oh!" Her mother looked surprised for a moment, and then broke out into a smile, revealing perfect white teeth. She could have been Gilderoy Lockhart's sister. With that she turned toward Sirius's parents. "Jack and Cherry Black? Genevieve Lirdde, good to see you again." She shook hands with them, "And you know my daughter Caliga, of course?"

There was a loud groan, "I _prefer_ Callie."

"Darling, I gave you that name and I am entitled to call you by it," her mother replied, "But either way, we need to be going, we have reservations for lunch."

They left after giving their farewells, like twins from the back with their hair swaying.

"Really though, you and your family will have to come over for dinner. I'll talk to your parents later today about it," Cherry said to James, who smiled in his boyish way. "Are you three ready?" she inquired of her children and Lily.

"Yep," Lily pulled her cloak up tighter around her neck, and gave James a quick kiss. Only to turn around to see Sirius making kissy faces at her. She stuck her tongue out at him, a skill which she had perfected on him many years ago.

"C'mon kiddo," he put an arm around her and began dragging her away from James, who chuckled at the sight.

"Owl me when you get home!" she cried, slightly muffled in Sirius's sleeve. "Arggh! Leggo o' me!"

* * *

"Um, Sirius? I thought you said that they were having problems. What you're explaining sounds like a picture perfect relationship," Harry grumbled.

"Someone once told me 'patience is a virtue'" Sirius said thoughtfully.

"And you didn't listen, did you?"

"Never have, never will." The wise words of a responsible godfather.

* * *

__

Ding. Ding. Ding ding ding ding! The doorbell sounded. Cherry tried desperately to remove the apron she was wearing as she ran toward the door, through the Blacks' Tudor house.

"Get the door!" A cranky voice called. Ah, Charon, the ever pleasant Black family door. "What are you gonna to do, wait till these people are solid blocks of ice and float 'em in the punch?"

"Who is it?" Cherry asked, ignoring the door's remarks. She was quite used to his abuse.

"It looks like William, Clarice, and James Potter."

"Jack! Sirius! Andromeda! Lily! The Potters are here!" Cherry tossed the apron on a chair and pulled on the front door. It wouldn't open. She sighed, knowing the routine very well, and also knowing exactly how to solve it. "Charon, you open right this minute or I will trade you in for those double doors from Paris!" She commanded, kicking the door for extra emphasis. It swung open.

"Clarice!" Cherry hugged her old friend with a radiant smile, although she was sure she could hear the door mumbling behind her. "Will, James, come in."

There was a rumbling in the house, signaling that Lily and Sirius had come running down the stairs. "James!" a chorus of voices shouted.

James looked up just in time to see an ecstatic Sirius sailing through the air toward him. "Umph!" he grunted as his best friend landed square on him.

"Sirius!" his mother scolded. "Is that how you greet a friend? One would think you were some kind of dog." She shook her head woefully as she ushered the Potters into the family room where the Christmas tree was, leaving the three children in the entryway.

"Funny how perceptive moms are sometimes, huh?" James nudged Sirius in the ribs as they both got off the tiled floor.

"Good morning," Lily said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and ignoring James's remark to Sirius. "Thanks for the present, I loved it."

"'Morning, Lillian and you're welcome," he loved calling her by her real name and kissed her lightly.

"Hello? I'm still here so can we cut the snogfest here for a sec?" Sirius jumped around waving his arms at them. 

James rolled his eyes. "Really Sirius, you of all people talking about cutting snogfests short."

"Well, it would be a little different if I were an active participant."

"Nice try, but I don't think--hi Andie," James acknowledged the brown haired girl who had just come down the stairs.

"Hi," she replied quietly, turning--what would we call it? Pink? Surely not. Red? Closer. More like…crimson.

"I think she fancies you," Sirius taunted his sister, who in turn hit him in the stomach with surprising strength, smiled at Lily and James, and skipped back up the stairs to avoid further humiliation.

"Really Sirius, could you be any more cruel to her?"

"It's my job as a big brother Lil, don't talk about things you wouldn't know about."

Lily sighed in exasperation as they collapsed on the couches of the living room, next the entryway. She and James shared the biggest sofa, and Sirius swung his legs over the armrest of the stuffed armchair. "So what are we going to do today? Just sit around and eat?"

"I heard Lucius Malfoy's having a party today at Malfoy manor," James replied. "I think he was going to open the house at around two in the afternoon."

"That place is huge!" Lily exclaimed. "But I'm so glad he got rid of those terrible decorations from his ancestors. Man-eating plants and murderous suits of armor aren't exactly fashionable anymore."

"Yeah, it's lucky his parents died when he was so young, otherwise, who knows how twisted he could have been. The Malfoys have such a terrible reputation," James shuddered as he thought of all the things the family had done in years past.

"It makes me sick just thinking about it, but we have to remember that it's not like that anymore," Lily stated finally.

"So I take it we're going?" Sirius craned his neck to look at them.

"Not yet, it's only eleven now, we still have four hours. But we should probably bring something. I hate being an empty-handed guest," she responded. "Callie's coming over at one, right?" Sirius nodded. "So why don't we leave for Diagon Alley in a little bit to buy something, and then we'll meet Callie at Malfoy mansion?" she asked, quite pleased with her plan.

The boys thought it over for a second. "Okay," the answered in unison.

Sirius hopped out of his chair. "I'm gonna go owl Callie."

* * *

"Still sounding pretty perfect to me," a doubtful Harry glared at his godfather.

"You're the one who wanted to hear this."

"I wasn't expecting a new rendition of Cinderella."

"Beggars can't be choosers."

* * *

"I say we go with this."

"Food would be more appropriate. Let's go back and get the cheesecake."

"This is better."

"Sirius, you're not of legal age to buy things like that," Lily grabbed it out of his hands and placed it back on the rack. "Besides, who knows what they already have, but you can never have too much food."

"Sounds like something Sirius would say," James called from the next aisle.

"I _told_ you nothing good could come of staying with him."

"You're not exactly a box of chocolates either," Sirius picked up another rather illicit object.

"Come on," Lily grabbed James and Sirius by their sleeves and pulled them out of _Hugo's: Gift Ideas for Every Occasion, _and back into the Diagon Alley toward the cake and pie stand that they had passed earlier.

"We'll take…one cherry and one strawberry cheesecake," she said to the elderly witch behind the stand as she opened her money bag. "Ten sickles? Here you go."

"Do you actually know how to get to Malfoy mansion? I don't think it's connected to the Floo network." James asked as they walked back toward the Leaky Cauldron.

"Good point." Lily stopped walking. "Why didn't we think of that before?"

"Don't worry about it," Sirius reassured her, "It's somewhere near the town of Umbra."

"Well that _does_ help, doesn't it?" she rolled her eyes at him, unconvinced.

"It's a tiny town. We get there, we find some chicks, I pull a few moves, and they tell us how to get there!" he beamed at her.

"It might work," James cut in before Lily could respond, desperate to settle this as soon as possible, leaning against the brick wall that would take them back to the Leaky Cauldron. Not that he was one to let a good argument die out, in fact, if he had attended a Muggle high school, he would probably have been a master debater; but unfortunately, Sirius-Lily debates usually resulted in headlocks and 'I know you are, but what am I?'-type comebacks. "Why don't we just go there first, and then decide?" He started to feel a headache coming on.

Lily, a little more perceptive than Sirius, picked up on his desperation, "Alright, let's go," but not without a little resentment in her voice. She stepped forward and tapped the wall with her wand and then stepped through the archway that appeared.

"Ow! Sirius, get off me!" Lily slapped the object that was on top of her as they all landed on the floor of the Umbra owl post office via Floo powder.

"Actually, that was me," a familiar voice answered.

"Oh, sorry James. But really, you should know that we would end up in this ridiculous position if you didn't wait for a minute after I stepped into the flame."

"Maybe I planned it this way," he replied mischievously.

"Well in that case, it's not so bad," she smiled, they both stood up and dusted themselves off.

"Yes, let's continue with another knock-your-pants-off fun round of 'Everyone Ignore Sirius and Hope He Doesn't Get Pissed'," a cranky voice behind them interrupted.

"You just never know when to go away, do you?" James did not sound pleased, holding the glass door of the post office open for Lily to walk through. They all stepped into the blinding early-afternoon light that reflected off the snow drifts.

"Now, we try part two of Sirius's brilliant plan," Lily said in a flat voice.

"Perfect…yes, that will do quite nicely," he mumbled.

"What?"

But he had already started walking toward a bare-looking tree. The boughs arched over some large rocks that were placed at its trunk. Under it, two girls sat, who looked a few years older than Sirius. One clutched a notebook and a quill, chewing thoughtfully on one end. The other, with fair hair, was speaking, and apparently quite eloquently as her hands were flying all over in gestures.

Lily and James followed Sirius cautiously, catching a bit of their conversation. "…I think it's your characterization that's a little fuzzy, you see, if he does that, it totally contradicts the fact that he's supposed to be a nice guy, see what I mean?" the blonde paused, waiting for a reaction. And Sirius dove in.

"Good afternoon, ladies," he flashed them his best spine-melting smile and they turned toward him.

"Hello there," the writer eyed him up and down with approval.

"I'm Sirius, and this is James and Lily," he acknowledged them, and they smiled at the girls.

"I'm Lynn, and this is Cassidy," she fluffed her hair a little.

"Pleasure to meet you," Sirius's tone was getting more and more syrupy as he extended a hand to meet Lynn's. He suddenly turned around and looked at James and Lily, giving them a 'go away, I'll take care of this' toss of his head.

So James and Lily backed away until they were out of hearing range. "You know, one of us simply going up and saying 'How do we get to Malfoy mansion?' would have been just as effective as Sirius's whole charade," she commented absently.

"Yeah, but then he doesn't get to have any fun," James replied.

Lily frowned. "But he's not letting us have any fun!"

He thought for a moment. "You know what? You're right." He scowled in Sirius's general direction. 

James was still pouting when Sirius returned. "We are set, my friends!" he smiled broadly. "Up this path for about half a mile, and we supposedly can't miss it!"

"Yahoo," James replied with little intonation.

"Now, now, you can always take one of the Malfoy's thirty-seven bedrooms once we get there."

"Yahoo!" he repeated, with more emphasis.

And the three headed own the snowy, dirt path. Sirius looked back toward the tree for a moment. "Remind me to come back for that one in a few weeks."

* * *

"You know, Sirius, I think you're right. Maybe they didn't have a perfect relationship."

"Well I'm glad you're finally going to listen to my story."

"And it wasn't that they didn't get along with each other, you were right about that too. It's that _you_ were always there to ruin the moment."

"Hey, watch it, kid."

"Okay, let me guess: now they're going to go into the mansion and a manticore is going to try to kill them and then they make a daring escape, Dad saves Mom, you get left in the dust, and all is well."

"Have you ever considered writing for 'As the Wizarding World Turns'?"

* * *

"This place still looks a little somber," Lily craned her neck as she looked up at Malfoy mansion's walls of dark stone, going up for stories and stories with little windows at consistent intervals. It reminded her of medieval fortresses, as it appeared to have once served the purpose of keeping others out. "The doors are open, so I guess we can just go in." 

They sauntered in, trying to look like had been there a hundred times, and also trying to take in their surroundings at the same time. The inside of the house, castle really, was well-lit with chandeliers and candles. The hallways were filled with paintings Malfoy after Malfoy: Lady Henrietta, who had once tried to marry a merman, but soon afterwards found it difficult to reproduce and left him for a wealthy vampire; Sir Carlisle who had performed an long list of illegal human experiments in this very house and it was said that he inspired many of Hitler's experiments during the Holocaust; and then Ladies Thea and Rhea, veela twins who had both wed Lord Mortor Malfoy, who had claimed to be Mormon. Sadly, Rhea was found dead a few days after the wedding and it was said that Thea had to suppress a terrible fit of giggles during the funeral. The portraits dated back to who knows when and Lily squirmed as she looked at some of them, remembering their infamous names from History of Magic class.

They followed the sound of a loud bass beat, which would inevitably lead them to a band, where the party would be. Through a large doorway, they found themselves in a large hall where colored lights spun and a stage had been set up along one wall. James recognized the band to be the Psychotic Psychics, a popular wizarding rock group.

"I guess we should see if Callie's here yet," he said.

"What?!" Lily shouted over the music.

"I said," he shouted back, "that we should go look for Callie!"

'Oh,' she mouthed back silently, showing comprehension on her face. She hated yelling, it was so barbaric.

The three promptly began scanning the room for Sirius's girlfriend. She wasn't at the table of food, which was piled high with snacks, treats, and drinks, she wasn't asking the lead guitarist for his autograph, and it didn't seem that she was dancing.

"Can't find her, can you?" Sirius yelled.

Lily and James both shook their heads 'no', and continued to look. The boys headed to the adjoining room while Lily combed the dancing throng.

"Maybe we're early," James suggested in a normal voice, the music was fading as they went into what looked like a billiard room. It was dark and dim lights hung above the pool tables. There were a few people scattered around the room, which seemed to be a lot larger than it really needed to be, a lot like the house itself. He noticed a solo girl sitting in a leather armchair, sipping a drink and approached. She seemed to see him, and a wicked smile played on her lips. She sat up, slender figure enhanced, with her long legs crossed and manicured fingers set firmly on her glass. Even in the low light, James could see her heart beating irregularly, almost thumping out of her chest, and her blue eyes were dark. Dark colored, and trying to be even darker. If only there hadn't been that look of fear and panic deep in their pools.

Callie.

******************************

Well…what did you think? Good? Bad? Too fast, too slow? REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!! 

I've already started on the second chapter, expect it in…a couple weeks. I'll try to get it up sooner, but I have finals next week (yucky!), so we'll see.

Thanks for reading! (even if you didn't like it).

Jade


	2. Into the Darkness

IN COR CLAUDERE 

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter, every one of you has an individual note at the end of the chapter!

IN COR CLAUDERE CHAPTER TWO

By Empress Jade

Callie.

"Callie?" James heard himself say in an unusually weak voice.

She nodded, straight up and straight down in an extremely purposeful way.

"You know, for a little while we thought you weren't here," he replied, getting calmer as he spoke, shifting his weight onto his left leg. He tended to do that when he was trying to keep his distance from something without looking like he was trying to keep his distance.

"I've been waiting for you." She annunciated each word carefully, as if reciting from a well written play and not wanting any of the words to lose their power and meaning. Her eyes remained unnervingly steady in their penetrating gaze.

"Well, I know we're a little late. At first we couldn't really figure out how to get here," he rambled on, continually shifting back onto his right foot, then left again, then right; trying not to look into her eyes.

"Cal!" he heard another voice. Sirius. James heard his footsteps approach from behind him and toward her.

"Oh, Sirius," she smiled a smile and didn't quite reach her eyes, planting a kiss firmly on his lips.

"Hey beautiful, you did a good job hiding from us," he twirled some of her long hair in his hand as he sat on the armrest of the chair she was seated in, showering her neck with little kisses. He didn't seem to notice her unusual stillness or the steadiness of her eyes. Then again, he had his eyes closed.

She looked up at him abruptly. "Hey sexy, you wanna go get me another drink?"

"Make James do it," he murmured, still nuzzling his face against her neck.

"Oh, but I'd rather that _you _did," she pulled away from him and pushing stray hairs out of her eyes, leaving his face feeling cold without her hair's warmth.

"Alright," he got up reluctantly and walked back toward the large room they had entered from. "No funny business while I'm gone," he pointed at James with a wink. James watched him saunter away in that way that he did.

As soon as Sirius was out of sight, Callie returned her attention to James. "Finally," she rolled her eyes, and turned to face him.

"What?" he replied, his confusion evident on his face. James was one of those people that didn't bother to hide his thoughts. After all, was there a point to having an opinion if you weren't going to share it?

She sighed and stood up in one graceful motion, her hair stirring like a veil behind her. She remained standing, holding out one slender arm to him. "Come with me for a moment."

He simply looked at her hand warily, unsure of what to do, taking a tiny step backwards.

"Just for a moment," she repeated, she was obviously not going to give up until she got her way. Beautiful blondes are like that sometimes.

A little unwillingly, he stepped closer to her, not wanting to argue, and placed his well sculptured hand in hers. She picked up the glittering purse that had sat next to her on the chair.

And the world spun.

* * *

"Okay...that doesn't sound good."

"And one order of high splicing action and mystery story is served," grinned Sirius.

* * *

Sirius carried a glass of white wine in one hand and a slice of chocolate cake in the other. "Hello ladies," he smiled cheekily at the numerous female admirers he had on his way back to his girlfriend. He hoped that what she had had was white wine, and that he wouldn't have to go get something else for her. If she starting getting too authoritarian like, he would have to let her go. After all, there was always that cute writer down by the post office, he smiled to himself at that thought. He maneuvered himself around the pool tables and the half drunk wizards around them, back toward the leather armchair where he last saw his girlfriend.

When he reached the chair, however, he found that it was empty. Callie was no longer there. And neither was…James. A flare of anger rose up within him. "That…" he muttered several profane things under his breath. "My best friend…and after I said…" he muttered a few more. "And he already has a girlfriend…" he was now so angry that he had to make up a few swears, as he had gone through all the ones in the book, in the unabridged copy.

Sirius looked down to see that he had smashed the cake in his sudden anger, and threw it against the wall with all his strength. A few pool shooters looked at him out of the corner of their eyes. But he didn't care.

He stormed back into the large hall, glad that the music was so loud and the room was so dark that no one would notice his rage, since he was running into people left and right.

"Sirius!" one of them yelled after he had trampled them. He turned around. His anger amplified after recognizing the redhead. Lily.

"I am going to kill that good for nothing boyfriend of yours!" Sirius shouted over the music.

"James?" she shouted back, looking confused.

"No, the other one," he shot back.

"What is your _problem_?" she raged.

"My problem?" he thundered back. "I just left my girlfriend and your boyfriend in a room together for two seconds, and I come back to find them both gone! Now how do you explain that?"

"Easily! It was probably _her_!"

"It was not!"

"Why?" she tested.

"What girl in her right mind would choose him over me?"

"Maybe she was choosing both of you! Don't look so surprised, girls can play that game too, it's not just you!" She was fuming. She always hated the way she looked when she was fuming. The muscles in her face always got tense, and a rush of color went to her cheeks.

"Well it's your boyfriend too!" The possibility of girls playing the field left him so shocked, that those five words were all he could manage to squeeze out. Girls? No, they were for being toyed _with_, not by. Girls were supposed to adore him, his rugged appearance, his sense of fun, his everything. Any ideas beyond that were radical and far beyond reality.

While Sirius pondered those thoughts, different ones were forming in Lily's mind. The five little words that he said were now swirling around in it, making unpleasant little visuals and a taunting little voice. 'I have nothing to worry about,' she reminded herself. Although Callie was blonde, and beautiful, and could be quite cunning when she decided to be, she didn't have a chance at whatever she tried with him. But Lily couldn't shake that feeling of doubt.

"Maybe they just went to look at the rest of the mansion or something. We don't have to jump to conclusions," she finally proclaimed aloud, more to reassure herself than him. She made sure that her face was as convincing as possible.

Sirius shrugged, coming out of his state of astonishment at last. "Whatever you say," although he was no longer astonished, those ideas did not leave him in a very cheery mood. He really wanted something to drink, and we're not talking apple juice here, folks.

"Will you at least help me look for them?" She was getting irritated with his lack of attentiveness.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Okay, you look back in the room where you last saw them, and I'll start in this big hall, okay?"

"Whatever you want," he replied nonchalantly, staring at the food table.

She was really, really getting irritated now. "How many times is it humanly possible to say the word 'whatever' in a matter of two minutes?" she nearly screamed at him.

"Beggars can't be choosers."

Frustrated, Lily sighed angrily and stormed away from him.

***

"Umph!" James felt his feet hit a floor, and he toppled over. He blinked rapidly to see his surroundings as he brought himself back up into a standing position. He was in a little room with black marble walls and a black marble floor. A bedroom, in the essence of a bedroom, for that was all that was in it. A bed. A large bed made of oak with a lovely green 300 thread count comforter spread on the fluffy looking mattress. And sitting on it, smiling, was Callie. "Where are we?" he asked, though he knew that when people asked such questions, they usually received unpleasant answers.

And he was right. "That is for me to know, but you will find out soon enough," she replied cheerfully, and suddenly hopped off the bed and strode toward him, placing both arms around his neck and looking into his eyes.

He pulled back, but could not get out of her grasp.

She didn't seem to notice. As she leaned in, he squirmed even more, thinking that she was going to kiss him. Instead, she pulled one dark strand of hair off his head. "But first, I have things to take care of," she looked at the hair in her hand, and stepped away from him, preparing to pick up her purse again. "By the way," she added as a side note, "I wouldn't try to get out of here if I were you."

His eyes questioned her.

"Because these walls do not like magic use by unknown beings. Some very interesting things could happen to you. I highly advise that you leave your wand where it is, I'd like to come back to find you in one piece." She beamed at him, grabbed her purse, and disappeared, leaving James alone.

"Great," he mumbled to himself, as he often did when he was alone. "Locked in a magic-proof room, who knows where, with a really scary girl about to come back after she's done who knows what," as he trudged to the bed and sat down.

***

Sirius sipped the white wine he had originally picked up for Callie on the way back to the billiards room, slowly, as he really did not want to go back in there. It was all part of his plan to become very, very drunk and be very, very happy. He wasn't really a drinker, but he had decided that such times called for it.

He rounded the first pool table.

Took six steps. 'Wow, it takes me six steps to make it past a pool table?'

Swerved around another one, and walked past it in five. 'An improvement.'

He continued walking past pool tables until he could make it past one in only one step. He was quite proud of himself, eyes still focused on the floor.

He saw the wooden leg of the leather chair Callie had originally been seated in.

And a slim ankle in a stiletto heel was next to it. He looked up.

"There you are," Callie grinned at him, "I was wondering if you'd ever come back!"

Sirius tried desperately to hide his confusion. "Um…where were you?" He looked around. "Where's James?"

"Oh, well," she looked at the ground. "He…" she bit her lip, looking embarrassed.

"Did he try to…" Sirius filled in.

She tottered her head back and forth, as if she was trying to decide whether to tattletale on someone or not.

"He did!" he said through clenched teeth, and squeezing his hands into fists. "Just wait until I get my hands on him, he'll regret the day he was born!" as he turned back toward the big hall with the music, scanning for his "best friend", although it was really too dark to see anything.

"Don't worry about it," he heard her say in a soothing voice as he turned around to look at her again, "He wasn't a problem, I took care of it. He's on his way home now."

"Good, but I'm still mad at him," he pouted, running his hand through her hair.

She rolled her eyes at him and laughed, a clear, ringing laugh. "Let it go, it's not the first time something like that's happened, and it certainly won't be the last," she offered him her wine, which he took carelessly.

"But still, it's not just anyone, it's 'Saint James', my best friend," he gulped down the rest of the wine, "I just never thought he would do anything--"

The glass fell to the ground and shattered.

***

"Hey Frank, have you seen James?" Lily approached a group of seventh years who were standing in the corner of the music hall.

A sandy blond-haired boy turned around, "No, I haven't, sorry." He saw the look of concern on her face and added, "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head lightly. "No, we just can't find him. Sirius and I," she replied glumly. " And Callie's gone too."

His face wrinkled. "Callie _Lirdde_?"

"Don't tell me you're another one of her admirers," she rolled her eyes at him.

"No," his voice was earnest. "She's my neighbor and we've been friends since…as long as I can remember. Why don't I come with you to look for them?"

"Yeah sure," she decided that with Sirius in the state that he was in, she needed whatever help came along. "The last I know, he was in the billiards room...you know, the one right off this hall," she indicated the direction, "why don't we see if there's anything there that will tell us where they are," she suggested.

"Sounds good to me," he smiled. He was always smiling, always happy. It comforted Lily to know that there was still some goodness in this world. "See you guys later," he said to his other friends as he walked away with her.

"Hey," he stopped.

"What?" she replied quickly with an edgy voice. Whatever she may have tried to convince herself of, she was definitely starting to get worried about James being gone...with Callie.

"Whoa, settle down, it's okay," he smiled again, unaffected in any way by her harshness. "I was just thinking that we should ask Lucius if he's seen them, it's his party and his house after all, and he's right over there," Frank pointed a few feet to the right of where he was.

"Oh," Lily sighed, trying to calm herself down. "Um...yeah, that's a good idea," remembering how cunning Frank was. Even though he wasn't on the Quidditch team, he was the one that wrote most of the Gryffindor team's plays and examined opposing teams' tactics. James was smart, but Frank's idea's were what kept their team alive. James...she tried not to think about him.

"Come on," Frank steered her in the right direction, they had to dodge a few dozen people before they could get to their host.

Lucius Malfoy stood tall and gaunt with brilliant white-blond hair that was short and spiked. He carried himself with a certain air that was unduplicable. With dignity, but not the heroic kind of dignity, the kind of dignity that comes partially from his custom tailored Armani, black, as always, and the glass of Cristal that he held gracefully in his manicured hands, and partially from his height and his razor straight posture. But more, it radiated from his firm, placid face, his chin held high, the unmeaningful condescendance of his glance, the coldness that shot out of his unbelievably sculpted cheekbones, the ease at which he could converse without being familiar. This was the air of one who firmly believed that he deserved everything he had, and cared very little of what others thought of him as long as the words beautiful, high class, and powerful were in the description.

"Lucius," Frank called, with yet another beaming smile.

The blond head pivoted gently, and Lily braced herself as smoky violet eyes, calm from the outside with a fire within, made contact with hers. They quickly moved on to her companion. "Longbottom, Ms. Evans," he acknowledged with a tip of his glass. "I trust that you're both enjoying yourself," he greeted without a smile, but those who knew him knew that Lucius Malfoy did not smile. It was not in his nature, and it saved his flawless face from smile lines.

"Yes we are," Lily replied, sans smile. After all, two could play at that game. "But we were wondering if you had seen either James Potter or Callie Lirdde."

His neatly trimmed eyebrows twitched for a second, "No, I don't believe I have."

"Oh," she couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

But Lucius, as cold as he could be, was without a doubt, the perfect host. "I'll keep an eye out for them."

"Thanks."

"By the way, Ms. Evans, that is an exquisite bracelet. White jade is extremely hard to come by."

"Oh thank you, it was a gift!" she smiled at the compliment.

* * *

"Now he just sounds...scary."

"Yeah, he was...but he had cheekbones to _kill_ for," Sirius added thoughtfully.

Harry cringed. "Ew."

* * *

"Well, so much for that idea," Lily sighed, walking away from Lucius.

"Don't worry, we'll find them," Frank patted her arm. "Now let's go to that billiards room."

She nodded, and went left, masterfully maneuvering around the crowds of people until they reached the first pool table. "Here we go," she said with little enthusiasm.

"Now, now," he tried to cheer her up as they started walking in. "You really don't have anything to worry about."

She gave him a doubtful look.

"Malfoy mansion is a huge place."

"Meaning?"

"_Meaning_, if he had been trying to find the bathroom and took a wrong turn who knows where he could have turned up," Frank rambled. "You know, I heard that there are 100,000 square meters in this place. So if--"

He stopped very suddenly.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, moving his jaw back to its usual place. "Uh, I don't think they're in here, let's go back out."

She raised her eyebrows at his unusual behavior "What is it?"

"Nothing," he repeated and proceeded to pull her out by her arm.

She pulled away. "You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are!" she insisted. "Come on!" she pulled him back in.

She turned back around. 

And saw. Exactly what Frank had tried to protect her from.

They had found them. 

Callie and James. Sharing the same chair. Lips together, arms around each other--

She couldn't take seeing anymore and ran from the room.

She ran, and she ran, swearing to never speak to him again. Never to near him again. Never to love again, never to...

But she didn't notice that her bracelet was glowing. The gift that _he_ had given her for Christmas, the white jade bracelet with a dragon intricately cut on it, was glowing an unnatural green.

*****************************

*Plays Twilight Zone music* What will happen next? Will Lily ever notice her bracelet? Why did Sirius drop his glass and then disappear? Why was James mad at Callie, but was snogging her by the end of the chapter? Will Lucius ever brighten up? Why is Callie suddenly acting so strange?

The answers to this and more in Chapter three!

BTW…Callie isn't really as much of an OC as you think. At the end of the series, you'll realize that you actually do know her…just not as Callie.

I noticed these at the bottoms of many stories and thought it was a good idea…

THANKS TO THOSE WHO REVIEWED!

Scroll down to find your individual comment (sorry it's not alphabetized, and please excuse grammar/spelling as well):

Shirely: I hope 'interesting' means you liked it and that Chapter 2 was satisfactory.

Lily's friend*Jess: I''m going to try to work on BWMTE, but ideas aren't really flowing although I do have the fourth chapter started!

THE PUCK: I know…the Sirius/Harry comments quality was a little down this time, mostly because the action started up though…any suggestions?

BELLA: I think you and Morgan have the awards for longest and most thoughtful reviews! It's a great honor, really! Yeah, the Malfoy family part was really fun to write, and so was Lucius in this chapter! And thanks for being specific with your likes! 

EMILY: Thanks for reading, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

SCULLYSPICE: I hope this chapter was up to par and at least as good as the last!

AZURE EDGE: (Awesome name btw, sounds like a magic sword or something…hmm…wheels start turning) Yes, the Harry and Sirius parts were my favorite too!

*SELLENE*: Another whole chapter, but you still don't really know what's happening, do you? Hope you keep reading for the truth…uncovered!

Jj: Yes, there is lots more on the way, and I sincerely hope you like all of it as well!

MOLLIE: I'm thinking of making a little email list because people have asked to tell them when something new is up (SO EVERYONE ELSE: LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO BE ON IT!) If you're a ffn writer, you can just put me on author alert.

~*CHARMSANGEL*~: Did you love this chapter too? And I'll be dishing out so much you'll never want to see me again! (hopefully, though I'll be out of town for a little while).

CASSIDY: Ah, my lovely beta reader (or one of)…finals, yuck! I hope yours are almost over! Although I haven't even started Chapter three yet (because of MM, side projects, bad me)

SABRINA: Hey, what's better than one review? Two reviews! And thank you to Zoe as well! WRU FOREVER!

AURORA: Your name reminds me of the princess from Sleeping Beauty (the disney version)…well, is this bad enough for you? I think it may get worse in the next chapter…which I have yet to write!

JJ: This is as ASAP as I could get, it's been a few weeks, right? Could have been worse…

MAMASITA: Thank you, thank you, thank you! You say the words I long to hear, now let's just see if my head will fit through the doorframe.

LISA: Special thanks to you! I'm sorry you didn't like the story that much, but if you're reading this, thank you and thank you for reviewing anyway!

CHRISSY: Does this clear up your confusion at all? Actually, I personally think it gets more confusing in this chapter, but it's supposed to. The smoke should clear sometimes between Chapter three and …the end.

PHOENIX: Was this chapter to die for? I certainly hope it's up to your standards!

SHAMPOO UL COPT: Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you liked it!

FOXFIRE06: Thanks, merci, gracias for taking the time to drop a few lines!

AKASAILORMARS: Ahh…Sailor moon, great show. But I was never home soon enough from school to watch it, so I never really understood what was going on since the storyline is so long! I'm guessing that all caps means you liked it?

HOPE: I think we all get a little lazy about signing in sometimes…yes, "different" is definitely a good word when it comes to stories! Thanks for specifically telling me what you liked, it helps me know what to put and not to put in stories!

MYRDDIN EMRYS: Wow, what an interesting name! (Can you tell from my other comments that I really like names?) What does it mean? You can tell me that in your next review, right? (btw, thank you for reading, of course)

MORGAN: yes, the other co-winner of the Super Review Award! Foreshadowing? Someone here knows a writing term? Anyway…yes, every single name in this story has a meaning…it's one of the fun little things I get to do as an author, if you're wondering about any of them, just ask. I love Andromeda because you can actually see it in the sky! Grammar…we all love it. I do, really, but sometimes when you're typing to just get going so fast, you know?

RAINA: My other lovely beta reader, did you like your cameo? It was hard to me to sneak it in…but I think I did alright. Favorites! Yay, I'm on a favorites list! *Jumps up and down in a state of rapture!*

ADDAGIRL: Cheating? Hm…I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out! *Ponders possible death* As Draco said in Draco Sinister: "As least I got a warning. For most people, it's just 'watch the bus' 'what bus?' splat!" or something along those lines.

ELIZ BLACK: A nice simple 'good'…my grandmother used to say that to me a lot. Well, still does I should say. Thanks!

"To thine own self be true." William Shakespeare, Hamlet


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